Three UN peacekeepers abducted in DR Congo

A UN source says three members of the United Nations’ peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, also known as MONUSCO, have been abducted in the eastern portion of the country.

The source, whose name was not mentioned in the report, said the MONUSCO peacekeepers were kidnapped in the town of Kibumba, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu, on Thursday.

MONUSCO is a 20,000-strong force tasked with a stabilization mission in the African country.

Two Congolese members of a demining team were among the abducted people.

The Congolese army said a vehicle was spotted near the border with Rwanda at the location where the kidnapping presumably took place. The car was empty with its engine running.

Earlier this week, the UN called on the DR Congo to respect the civil liberties of its citizens and provide political space for the opposition amid increasing tensions ahead of elections scheduled to be held next year.

The mineral-rich country has been struggling since President Joseph Kabila’s controversial 2011 re-election, which is said to have been marked with voting irregularities.

The nation has been through two wars since Kabila came to power back in 2001.